A favorite book I have referred to often making lesson plans and selecting suitable activities for summer camps is Bill Martin Jr.’s Big Book of Poetry. This colorful tome includes a number of classic verses you’d likely recognize by well-known authors as well as artwork by some of the most popular illustrators in children’s literature.
Author and illustrator Lois Ehlert’s illustration for “Ten Little Caterpillars” inspired me to combine some counting, artwork, and creativity for one of our projects. This page in the book is what sparked my imagination to make a version feasible for preschoolers.
Below is my modified version for preschoolers. (It honestly didn't occur to me to check
online for crafts she might already have ready to go. I made this one up on my own and had fun doing it.) I used decorative scissors to cut out the soil from a brown
paper bag, edged scissors for the leaves from two different colors of green paper, a stencil for the flower, 1-inch
whole punch for caterpillar body and center of flower, and a regular hole punch for the eyes.
The purple stem I drew by hand and cut out 6 at a time.
I was so fascinated by the biography of Author/Illustrator/Artist Lois Ehlert, I included a copy of it in the plastic sleeve of the artwork each child did. Click here to read more about this fascinating woman and/or watch the following interview of her.
